Crockpot Ham and Beans

Crockpot ham and beans is the coziest meal that can make use of leftover ham with just a bag of white beans, a few stock vegetables, and chicken broth. Just set it and forget it for 6 hours in the slow cooker!

Crockpot ham and beans

Anytime you have a piece of leftover ham, big enough that you can slice into a steak with a small piece of the bone, I want you to make these crockpot ham and beans. I really recommend the bone-in ham, because the bone offers such big flavor as it simmers all day long. If you don't have leftover ham, you can usually find a big slice of ham steak in the deli section of your market. You'll be fine without the bone, in that case. I have found sliced ham steak with bone in my market, though!

This recipe uses a one pound bag of white beans. Use your favorite white beans; we happen to love navy beans the most because they're small, yet they plump up into soft, creamy beans when cooked. With any bag of beans that you use, be sure to rinse and pick them over for any loose debris or rocks in the bag. If you buy your beans in the bulk bin, you need 1 pound, or 2 cups of beans. Please note that you do not need to soak the beans to make this crockpot ham and beans recipe!

Another interesting note about this recipe is that it doesn't call for any salt! This is similar to my Crockpot Vegetable Bean Soup recipe. Between the ham, celery and chicken broth, we have plenty of salt in this recipe. Just trust me on this one! If you think I'm crazy for saying celery is salty, take a bite of raw celery and pause to taste the salt in it. It's truly one of the naturally saltiest vegetables! As the beans cook in the celery, broth and ham all day, they absorb all of the salty flavors they need. You can always taste before serving, and adjust to your preference. Freshly ground black pepper is insanely good in this recipe, however!

This is the slow cooker that I use and love. I am always partial to oval-shaped crockpots, because I believe they allow the ingredients in a dish to be more spread out and cook more evenly. In round slow cookers, the ingredients tend to be piled on top a little too much. I have found oval shaped slow cookers to cook things slightly faster because of the higher surface area exposed to the heating element, so check your beans after 5 hours of cooking on high to see if they're tender. If not, stir, and let simmer another hour. As you can see in the photo, we tested this recipe in both oval and round crockpots, and both worked great!

Ingredients:

• white beans: I have found navy beans to be the softest, creamiest beans when cooked in the slow cooker. Do not soak these beans before making this recipe. Simply rinse the beans and then pour them into the bottom of the crockpot.
• ham: If you have leftover ham from a holiday dinner, it's best to grab a big slice of it with the bone-in. If you don't have leftover ham, you can look for something in the meat department of your grocery store called 'smoked ham steak slice with bone.' If you can't find one with the bone, it's fine, too.
• onion
• celery
• carrots
• thyme: If you're using dried thyme, make sure you're using dried thyme leaves, not ground thyme. Use ¾ teaspoon of dried thyme leaves, or 1o sprigs of fresh thyme.
• freshly ground black pepper: Just freshly ground black pepper is needed, no salt, because the ham and chicken broth bring plenty of salt to the pot.
• chicken broth

How to make crockpot ham and beans:

1. Gather all of the ingredients needed for the recipe: white beans (dry, not soaked), the ham (no need to slice or cut it before adding it to the pot), onion, celery, carrot, thyme, pepper and chicken broth.
   
2. Place the beans in the bottom of a slow cooker.
   
3. Place the ham steak on top of the beans. Then, scatter the diced onion, sliced celery and carrots to the crockpot.
   
4. Add the thyme leaves, pepper, and chicken broth.
   
5. Place the lid on the slow cooker. Set the timer to 6 hours, and set the dial to HIGH.
6. After 6 hours, remove the lid, give everything a stir. Then, taste 5 beans to ensure they’re done. (If the beans aren’t done, place the lid back on, add 30 more minutes of cook time and try again).
7. Once the beans are done, remove the ham steak from the crockpot and place it on a cutting board to cool. Using two forks, shred the meat from the steak. Stir it back into the crockpot.
   
8. Give everything a taste, and then serve warm in bowls. I really love to serve this with crusty white bread slices for soaking up the rich broth.
   

Other ways to use white beans:

If you're looking for more white bean recipes because you love their creamy little bites in a soup, my white bean soup would be your best bet. Or, for a little something with more ingredients and Italian flavors, my pasta fazool is another winner that's packed full of pasta and lots of other vegetables.

If you make this recipe and love it, be sure to leave a rating and comment below! 

Crockpot Ham and Beans

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes

Set it and forget it crockpot ham and beans.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound navy beans
• 1-1.25 pound smoked ham steak slice with bone
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery (with leaves), sliced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme leaves (not ground thyme)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth

Instructions

1. Rinse the navy beans, and pick through for any broken beans or potential rocks.

2. Add the beans to the bottom of a slow cooker.

3. Place the ham steak on top of the beans.

4. Scatter the diced onion, sliced celery and carrots to the crockpot.

5. Add the thyme leaves, pepper, salt, and chicken broth.

6. Place the lid on the slow cooker. Set the timer to 6 hours, and set the dial to HIGH.

7. After 6 hours, remove the lid, give everything a stir.

8. Taste 5 beans to ensure they’re done.

9. If the beans aren’t done, place the lid back on, add 30 more minutes of cook time and try again.

10. Once the beans are done, remove the ham steak from the crockpot and place it on a cutting board to cool. Using two forks, shred the meat from the steak. Stir it back into the crockpot. Divide into bowls and serve warm.

Notes

white beans: I have found navy beans to be the softest, creamiest beans when cooked in the slow cooker. Do not soak these beans before making this recipe. Add them to the crockpot
ham: If you have leftover ham from a holiday dinner, it's best to grab a big slice of it with the bone-in. If you don't have leftover ham, you can look for something in the meat department of your grocery store called 'smoked ham steak slice with bone.'
thyme: If you're using dried thyme, make sure you're using dried thyme leaves, not ground thyme. Use ¾ teaspoon of dried thyme leaves, or 1o sprigs of fresh thyme.
freshly ground black pepper: Just freshly ground black pepper is needed, no salt, because the ham and chicken broth bring plenty of salt to the pot.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 446Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 2494mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 9gSugar: 3gProtein: 48g